Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly VD Satishan on Sunday demanded the central government to immediately intervene in the alleged decision of the Air India Express to cut flight services from the state airports.
In a letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjrapu Rammohan Naidu, Satishan said that the move has raised serious concern among the people of Kerala, especially the migrant community living in Gulf countries.
He said, “Flight services from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur to major Gulf countries from Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kannur will either be reduced or abolished, while additional flights from Mangaluru, Jaipur and Lucknow are being operated.”
Congress leader Satishan said that although the airline has cited economic reasons, “questions are being raised, because the most profitable routes are included for the Gulf route from Kerala to AI Express.”
He said, “The cuts in these services will cause huge difficulty to millions of Malayali people working in Gulf countries, which are very much dependent on affordable and direct connectivity.